Drexel-bound senior star Colleen Grady (left) remains a top scorer and go-to performer for top-seeded and defending Essex County Tournament champion Glen Ridge, which is favorite to win 2017 ECT title. (photo by njsportaction) 

Montclair junior and Lehigh commit Nora Giordano (left) is just three goals shy of reaching coveted 100-goal career plateau for the Mounties who are the second seed in the 2017 girls lax ECT. (Photo by James Latanzio/sportzdrop)

Fourth-seeded Verona is led by high-scoring Ava Anderson (23), who leads a promising Hillbilly squad that reached 2016 ECT final. (photo by njsportaction) 

Glen Ridge Prohibitive Favorite
In 2017 ECT Girls Lacrosse Field 
By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com 

While it’s unusual - to say the least - that perennial girls lacrosse powerhouse West Essex is 0-6 to start the season, the one constant and expected circumstance after two weeks of the new season is the fact that defending champion Glen Ridge remains a prohibitive favorite as the Essex County Tournament gets underway. 

The Ridgers (5-1), ranked eighth in the state by nj.com, garnered the top seed in the 2017 ECT and will begin defense of its 2016 county title when it meets the winner of Wednesday’s (April 19) first round contest between 9-Columbia and 8-Newark Academy, 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 25, at Watsessing Park in Bloomfield. 

Montclair (5-2) is the second seed and West Essex the third seed, while last year’s runner-up, Verona (5-0) is No. 4 in the 12-team field. 

All four top seeds receive a bye into the quarterfinals which are to be completed by April 25. The semifinals, to be held at the higher seeded team’s home field, are slated for Saturday, April 29, and the final is set for 4:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6, at Livingston. 

Glen Ridge, which defeated Verona, 14-6, in last year’s final at Nutley for its fourth ECT title in the past eight seasons, is led by Drexel-bound standout Colleen Grady, who leads the Ridgers with 23 goals and 11 assists for 34 points. Fellow senior Galen Lew (19 goals, 5 assists), steady veteran senior Maggie Smith (14 and 6) and impressive freshman Gretchen Gilmore (17 and 1) are other opportunistic scorers for veteran coach Beth Larkin’s Group 1 title contender this spring. 

The Ridgers play a terrific schedule, having already defeated 10 th-ranked Chatham and No. 11 Northern Highlands (11-10), while being edged by sixth-ranked Oak Knoll (17-13). Glen Ridge is scheduled to host Pope John 10 a.m. Saturday before visiting No. 5 ranked Summit (3-1) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday (April 19). The Hilltoppers’ only loss is to No. 1 ranked Ridgewood 

Montclair, under its longtime coach Ann Jennings, is led by Boston College-bound soccer standout Jillian Jennings (15 goals, eight assists), a fine all-around athlete, along with Lehigh commit, junior Nora Giordano (21 goals, 4 assists) and senior Olivia Rivera (16 and 2) 

The steady Giordano scored four-goals in Thursday’s 14-8 win over Mahwah and is now just three goals short of reaching the 100-goal career plateau which she can do on Wednesday (April 19) at Morristown. 

Jennings, on her way to completing a 12-varsity letter career at Montclair, poured in five goals and had two assists vs. Mahwah. 

The Mounties have already dropped 16-10 regular-season contest to Glen Ridge, but did knock off West Essex, which is why they are seeded second. 

Verona, which edged Caldwell, 13-11, Thursday, in regular season action, could wind up meeting the Lady Chiefs in the ECT quarters, if the fifth-seeded West Caldwell-based squad manages to get past 12 th-seeded Cedar Grove in their first round contest scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 18, at Bonnel Field. 

Verona, under the guidance of coach Suzanne Giarrusso, is led by high-scoring forward Ava Anderson, who had seven goals vs. Caldwell, and steady Dana Pena (four goals vs. Lady Chiefs). Ashley Kenneally, who had 16 saves vs. Caldwell, has stepped in to do a splendid job in goal while replacingr the graduated Amanda Maguire. 

Montclair Kimberley Academy (2-4) is seeded sixth and will be favored to get past 11 th-seeded Mount St. Dominic in its first round match, 11 a.m., this Saturday (April 15) at Van Brunt Field. The Cougars just defeated the Mount, 11-5, Thursday, in regular season action. 

MKA is led by the explosive scorer Annie Wallace, who had four goals and an assist vs. the Mount. 

Essex County Girls Lacrosse Tournament First Round: 

(9) Columbia at (8) Newark Academy, 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 19 

(12) Cedar Grove at (5) Caldwell, 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 18 

(10) Millburn at (7) Livingston, 9 a.m., Saturday, April 15 

(11) Mount St. Dominic at (6) MKA, 11 a.m., Saturday, April 15 

Quarterfinals (To be completed by Tuesday, April 25: 

Columbia/NA winner at (1) Glen Ridge, 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 25

CG/Caldwell winner at (4) Verona, TBA 

Mill/Liv winner at (2) Montclair, TBA 

Mount/MKA winner at (3) West Essex, TBA 

Semifinals, Saturday, April 29, at higher seed 

Final, Saturday, May 6, 4:30 p.m., at Livingston 

Follow Steve Tober on Twitter @Chattermeister 

Glen Ridge remains the team to beat as ECT girls lacrosse action is underway

Glen Ridge captured its fourth ECT girls lax title in last eight years last spring 

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